In the past, boxes of prescription medicines in Japan contained a small, tightly folded piece of paper.
It was covered in tiny print: how to use the medicine, side effects, precautions, and much more.
It was essentially an instruction sheet for the medicine.
In Japan, it is officially called a package insert.
For pharmacists, it was always close at hand when we wanted to check something quickly.
These days, however, we rarely see that piece of paper.
The information has gone digital.
Less paper.
Easy access to the latest information.
That sounds good.
But looking at a box without that familiar sheet of paper, something occurred to me.
Wait.
That paper wasn’t just an instruction sheet.
It also filled some of the empty space inside the box, almost like packing material.
After the paper disappeared, some medicine boxes became smaller too.
That makes sense.
But I couldn’t help thinking:
That probably wasn’t as easy for manufacturers as it looks.
After all, you can’t simply take a pair of scissors to a medicine box and make it smaller.
Paper had its advantages too
Digital information has one major advantage: we can access the latest updates.
But the old paper version was useful too.
“Hmm, what was it about this medicine again?”
Open the box.
Look at the paper.
Done.
No battery required.
No internet connection required.
Try to check the electronic information and get:
No signal.
In that situation, paper wins.
In Japan, where earthquakes, heavy rain and other natural disasters can disrupt electricity and communications, that’s something worth remembering.
What about Europe?
Europe is also moving toward electronic medicine information.
For now, however, electronic product information is being developed to complement rather than simply eliminate the paper information provided to patients.
Digital is good at staying up to date.
Paper works without electricity or an internet connection.
Having both sounds useful.
But then, of course, we haven’t reduced the paper.
Hmm. It’s not so simple after all.
If packaging is excessive, just reduce it.
It sounds easy.
But sometimes, when we remove something, we discover that it had another purpose too.
Use less paper.
Make the box smaller.
And still keep the medicine safe.
Even reducing things isn’t always easy.
That’s what I find myself thinking when I see a medicine box that has become just a little smaller.
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